Poole Grammar School

Dorset

Overview

Poole Grammar School is a selective, all-boys grammar school and Academy in the coastal town of Poole in Dorset. The school has been a designated Specialist Mathematics and Computing College since 2003 and was awarded a second Specialism in Cognition and Learning, in 2007. The school gained Trust status in 2008.

Admissions and exam information

The exam is made up of three GL Assessment papers. There will be a break between papers. This exam covers verbal reasoning, mathematics and English.

Total of 180 places in Year 7

There are four grammar schools in Dorset: two in Bournemouth and two in Poole. All four schools share the same 11 Plus test. Children only need to sit one test (with the school they are registered with) and results are shared with the other schools. The test material is provided by GL Assessment and covers maths, English and verbal reasoning. All papers are multiple choice. The maths (covering core Key Stage 2 topics) and verbal reasoning papers are 50 minutes long each, and the English paper is 45 minutes and will cover comprehension, grammar and punctuation.

If you’re not sure what verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning is all about, or if you want to get a better understanding of the kind of knowledge children need for the 11 Plus exams, then try out some practice questions below. Get your son or daughter to have a go too! Can they beat you? We love a bit of friendly competition!

Exam preparation

From experience we know that the best preparation for the exams cannot be achieved in a short period of time. We believe the earlier your child can practice the better chance they have in securing a place.

How can you ensure my child gets into the best schools possible?

We know that preparing for the exam can be a major focus in your child’s education and we are here to support you throughout that journey. We do not believe in simply ‘teaching to a test’, which is why we offer individualised courses and specialist courses that complement your child’s education in the run up to and beyond the exam.

Working in small groups and independently our members grow in confidence and develop exam techniques to prepare them for the day of the exam and beyond.

Our unique approach not only uses the most up-to-date resources, our engaging and motivational tutors will guide and support your child every step of the way, whilst providing clear and honest feedback about your child’s progress.

How often should my child have extra tuition?

At Explore we take a blended approach that involves a weekly individual session, essential to focus on your child’s core maths and English skills and vital to exam success, as well as one scheduled class-taught session each week that focuses on exam-specific techniques and content. As part of our offering we recommend regular home practice, to embed learning of new skills covered in class. We utilise bespoke online and paper-based materials to provide your child with clear activities to practise at home.

Why should I choose Explore Learning?

We understand that you want to give your child the best opportunities in life and we are here to support you throughout their journey into secondary education. We believe every child should have fair access to exam preparation, we don’t pre-test children, and welcome children of all abilities and will give them the best possible preparation to demonstrate their potential.

Our comprehensive 11 Plus and Entrance Exam courses give children the opportunity to become confident in a range of verbal and non-verbal reasoning methods. In addition, we ensure children are developing the core maths and English skills needed to tackle any exam with confidence. We also prepare children for entrance exams into independent schools, tailoring our courses to suit the focus of schools in the local area.

How to secure a place at this school

Our centres specialise in 11 Plus exam preparation so your child has access to regular practice and the best 11 Plus tuition in the country. For more information, visit one of our recommended centre pages to see how we can cater for your child. To discuss your child’s needs we recommend arranging a visit at one of our Explore Learning tuition centres.

Bristol Cabot Circus

55.27 miles away

11 Plus course info

Our course is open to all. We don’t pre-test; we welcome all children with the ambition and drive to go to grammar or independent school.

Students on the 11 Plus course attend twice a week; one exam preparation class (tailored to the local exam requirements) and one tailored, flexible session that focuses on developing core maths and English skills. 11 Plus members also have access to a fantastic online resource with unlimited non-verbal and verbal reasoning exam style questions – perfect for home practice whenever you want it.

Try Explore for free

The process of getting to know your child starts from the very first time we meet you at your free trial session. This is an opportunity for us to discuss your child’s requirements in depth and for you to see the tuition centre in action.

Dora T&Cs

Thank you

If you have a question or prefer speaking to one of our team, please call us on 01483 447414 today.

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Try our 11 Plus quiz!

These are real questions taken from past papers for you and your child to sample, so you get a feel for what’s expected of them when it comes to sitting the exam.
As a guide, they should take three minutes to solve. Don’t worry if it takes longer or you don’t get all the answers correct, you can retake the test as many times as you want!

Choose your location

Which of the options matches the composite shape created when all the shapes are joined together by the corresponding letters?*

D

B

C

A

E

Choose the correct word to complete the sentence:*

The clarinet player soaked her ---- before the performance.

reed

read

rede

A picture of a skyscraper is drawn using a scale of 1cm : 8m. The height of the skyscraper is 184m. How tall will the skyscraper be in the drawing?*

18.4cm

184 cm

230cm

23cm

23m

Sandra travelled the following distances across six days: 12 miles, 15 miles, 7 miles, 18 miles, 10 miles. What is the range of the distances that she travelled?*

8 miles

18 miles

11 miles

Identify the part of the sentence that contains a superlative adjective:*

The ice-berg was the largest yet recorded by the intrepid explorer.

ice-berg

largest

recorded

intrepid

Identify the sentence that is written in the passive voice:*

The antelope was chased through the wilderness for over half an hour.

The bus narrowly missed hitting another car yesterday morning.

Which of these numbers is NOT a cube number?*

1000

8

64

27

25

Identify the subject of this sentence:*

After the eclipse, the lion bathed himself in the river.

river

bathed

eclipse

lion

Unscramble the sentence below to identify the extra word:*

Went causing fence the the bolt horses to fireworks off

fence

horses

fireworks

the

Complete the word: _la__d so that it means the same, or nearly the same, as 'joyful'*

Our educational experts have created this fun quiz for you and your child to try out SATs questions at home. This is a great chance for your child to apply the knowledge and skills they have been building up at school. Can they beat you? We love a bit of friendly competition!

Choose a key stage assessment

Choose your location

Which is the longest amount of time?*

1 hour

80 minutes

10 minutes

35 minutes

Choose the option that must end with a question mark*

Ask me about my favourite part of the film

The film is due to start in 30 minutes

Can you guess what the film will be about

Tell me which film you would like to watch

Which word completes the sentence below?*

We had to stay inside at lunchtime .... it was raining.

because

that

or

if

Here is a train timetable from London to Glasgow via Birmingham. What time does the train arrive in Birmingham on Saturdays?*

12:34

11:57

12:00

Which of these numbers is odd?*

68

27

42

24

Identify the meaning of the root word 'port' in the word family below*

airport - import - portable - transport

sail

bring

lift

carry

What punctuation mark is needed between the words 'towel' and 'suncream'?*

When I go on holiday I need to pack a towel suncream and sunglasses

a question mark

a full stop

a comma

an apostrophe

Six apples cost the same as four pineapples. One pineapple costs 90p.*

How much does one apple cost?

£0.60

£1.00

£0.80

What time does the clock show?*

half past three

half past two

quarter past six

ten past six

What is 35% of 280?*

98%

102

102%

98

Which is the noun in the sentence below?*

The bird sang loudly.

loudly

sang

bird

the

Which sentence below uses past progressive tense?*

Alex found her homework too easy

Before dad went to work, he had a nap

Ross showed me his new car

Rachel was learning a dance for the competition

Ben ate a quarter of a pizza. Which fraction shows the amount he ate?*

1/4

2/4

3/4

4/4

Which verb completes the sentence so that it uses the subjunctive form?*

If I ..... the teacher, I would let the class leave early.

were

am

was

be

Which sentence uses an exclamation mark correctly?*

Do you like swimming!

Can you help me find my shoes!

It has started to rain!

How did you read that so fast!

3.4 + 4.023 = ?*

7.423

7.023

6.423

Which shape is a hexagon?*

A

B

C

D

Which word is the object in the sentence below?*

The girl ate a large pizza at the restaurant.

restaurant

large

girl

pizza

Which sentence is written in the present tense?*

Dad walked the dog.

Dad cleans the kitchen.

Dad went to work.

Dad read a book.

This thermometer shows the temperature in both ̊ C and ̊ F. What is 15 ̊ C in ̊ F?*

These are real questions taken from past papers for you and your child to sample, so you get a feel for what’s expected of them when it comes to sitting the exam.
As a guide, they should take three minutes to solve. Don’t worry if it takes longer or you don’t get all the answers correct, you can retake the test as many times as you want!

Choose your location

What is the size of angle x in the triangle below?*

30 ̊

115 ̊

65 ̊

35 ̊

85 ̊

Look at the cube on the left. Which net matches the cube?*

A

B

C

D

E

Jill arrived at school 45 minutes late. Kelly arrived seven minutes early. Jo arrived on time at 8:35a.m. How much later was Jill than Kelly?*

52 minutes

35 minutes

7 minutes

47 minutes

45 minutes

One word, which is in capitals, has had three consecutive letters taken out. These three letters on their own will make one correctly spelt word, without changing the order. Identify the three-letter word that completes the word with the missing letters.*

We have been told to VAE the island immediately.

cat

dog

bin

met

ran

Identify which word has the CLOSEST MEANING to belligerent.*

friendly

antagonistic

peaceful

sensible

agreeable

Identify the part of the sentence that contains the pronoun.*

"Do you

like strawberry

and vanilla ice cream?"

enquired Katie.

A four-letter word is hidden at the end of one word and the beginning of the next word. Identify the two words that make the hidden word.*

The candle added little to the ambience

The candle

candle added

added little

little to

the ambience

Identify the part of the sentence that contains a relative clause.*

On Saturday

the car broke down,

which distressed Viktor

as he was late for the match.

Cara is saving her paper round earnings to buy a new bicycle. She earns £6, seven days a week. The bicycle costs £462, how many weeks will it take her to save enough money to buy the bike?*

12 weeks

9 weeks

8 weeks

10 weeks

11 weeks

Look at the shape on the left. In which drawing on the right is it hidden? (Note: it is the same size and is facing the same direction.)*

The school curriculum now covers more than ever before. Have a go at our fun quiz to find out some of what your child will be tackling in class. Even better, get your son or daughter to have a go too! Can they beat you? We love a bit of friendly competition!

Choose a school year

Choose your location

Which word best completes this sentence?*

The dog sat on the ......

mat

chat

twist

Which of these letters is a vowel?*

s

e

t

h

Spell the missing word:*

I talked to my friend on the ..... last night

phoan

phone

fone

foan

Find the preposition in this sentence:*

The train went through a tunnel

The

train

went

through

tunnel

Which word does not belong?*

share

repair

wear

fort

Match the verbs to the correct tenses:*

Wriggled / will succeed / beam

Future / past / present

Present / future / past

Past / future / present

Past / present / future

Which of these is NOT a plot feature?*

Conclusion

Rising action

Metaphor

Climax

We ..... we were going in the right direction.*

assumeed

asumed

ussumed

assumed

Which tense is this sentence in?*

We will have finished dinner at 9pm.

Past

Conditional

Future perfect

Present

Which letter do you need to complete the word: c_t*

o

a

e

One fox, two ......?*

foxx

foxs

foxes

Which word is not a type of food?*

apple

flour

rice

peanut

brick

Which of these statements is a fact?*

Raindrops can be between 0.1 to 9mm wide

I absolutely loathe the rain!

Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?*

David’s trousers are red.

Davids' trousers are red

Davids trouser’s are red.

Identify the modal verb in this sentence:*

I should not have eaten all that chocolate last night.

should

have

eaten

last

Which word is the synonym for 'see'?*

Ocean

Castle

Sand

View

Which of these is NOT an auxiliary verb?*

Listen

Have

Be

Do

Which of these spellings does NOT need correcting?*

Smudge

Budgit

Dentest

Cafateria

How many phonic sounds make up this word?*

3

4

5

Chose the correct punctuation for this sentence:*

Oops did Jenny fall down

Oops did, Jenny fall down

Oops did Jenny fall down!

Oops, did Jenny fall down?

Which picture matches the sentence best: "I am a busy bee because I work hard."*

A

B

C

Pick the correct spelling:*

I ..... a gigantic fish yesterday!

caught

cawt

cort

caut

Which would be the best title for a factual book about the life cycle of a frog?*

From Tadpole to Frog

My Bear and Me

The Invisible Harry

Frog and Toad are Friends

Complete the sentence with the correct word:*

The panther silently stalked its .....

prey

pray

Which punctuation mark should introduce a list?*

-

:

!

;

?

Match the idiom to the its meaning:*

Flew off the handle

Felt surprised

Quick thinking

Became angry

The consequence of not training for the marathon was an injury mid training. How is the word 'consequence' being used in this sentence?*

Negative connotation

Definition

Neutral connotation

Positive connotation

Which number is one more than 7?*

4

8

6

Which shape comes next in the pattern?*

Square

Circle

Triangle

Complete the following sequence:*

3, 6, ?, 12, 15, ?, ?, 24, ?, 30

7...17, 23...27

10...18, 23...28

9...18, 21...27

A dessert is one scoop of ice cream and some sprinkles. If there are two flavours of ice cream and two types of sprinkles, how many different desserts can you make?*

4

2

8

Find the mode of these numbers:*

4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9, 4, 3

8

5

7

4

3

What is the ratio of blue balls to red balls shown in this picture?*

1:3

1:4

4:1

3:1

Which of these values is the largest?*

90%

5/4

11/12

1:2

a³x a² = ?*

a²

a⁹

a⁵

a⁶

Which number is the odd one out?*

127

53

73

11

121

29

Which shape is the largest?*

Square

Circle

Star

Count back three numbers from 78. Which is the correct number?*

76

75

74

Complete the number sentence:*

24 > .....?

11

30

24

Which of these shapes are congruent?*

C and D

E and F

B and A

B and F

Three cakes are shared equally between 10 children. How much cake does each child get?*

3/10

2/5

1/2

6 cubed = .....?

36

216

18

24

Which of the following numbers is a common factor of 18 and 72?*

5

10

8

9

Take a look at the shape on the left. Which pattern makes this shape?*